RAWA AOPA WATUMOHAI NATIONAL PARK

Trekking, Adventure at the Savannah and Swamp of Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park

Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park located at South-East Sulawesi, just approximately 2-3 hours driving from Kendari, capital of South-East Sulawesi. Cover an area of 105,000 ha in South-East Sulawesi province. It was gazette in 1990, becoming Sulawesi's fourth national park. The park is named after the swampy area Aopa and the mountain Mount Watumohai.

Large parts of Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park consist of savanna with palm trees and Alang-Alang. The coast is relatively flat and covered with mangrove swamp forest. Inland the terrain first changes in savanna whereas more inland is hilly with tropical rainforest. This area is dominated by several hills including Mokaleleo Mountain, located in the north and Matoha upland plain (270m) in the east. Mount Watumohai (550 m) and Mount Mendoke (980 m), the highest points in the area, are located in the south. The swampland Rawa Aopa forms an important habitat for water birds. The birds can be watched from Harapan Island, a small island with a hut for bird-watchers in the middle of the swamp.

FLORA & FAUNA

There is a remarkable variety of plants in this Park. It has been recorded that there are at least 89 families, 257 genera, and 323 species of plant such as lara (Metrosideros petiolata), sisio (Cratoxylum formosum), kalapi (Callicarpa celebica), tongke (Bruguiera gimnorrhiza), fan palm (Borassus flabellifer), and lotus (Victoria sp.).